Didn't I just write a year-end recap like... yesterday? 2024 really did passed by in the blink of an eye, dayum! My apologies for not updating my blog since April - life happens. Anyway, let's break down some numbers like last year. There were fewer covers and conventions, as I started focusing more on personal work and drawing comics...and taking a break. Grays are numbers from last year.
24 (49) covers
17 (5) personal artworks
34 (13) comic pages
48 (52) commissions
2 (4) comic conventions
1 exhibition
2 artbooks
One of my proudest achievements in 2024 was organizing my first exhibition in Malaysia—KILLSWITCH EXHIBITION (KS), together with a good friend of mine Hoi Mun. The exhibition featured illustrations, original art, sculptures, concept art, and a short comic introducing the world of KS. It debuted with an oversized A3 art book and a limited-edition sketchbook (Sketchbook is sold out on the spot, so thank you all!!). KS is an original world building project that we developed in our free time over the span of four years because we needed an artistic escape. It’s not something epic, but it’s very honest and full of love and passion. Feel free to check out the official website for more KS news and pictures!
COMIC YEAR
Alright let’s talk about the comic project I worked on that has been revealed. First up : CYBORGS VOL 1 : RONIN. This one is finished quite a while ago, some of you might have heard about me working on some secret project for a French publisher many years back. That's right, I finished it - 80 pages total. Took me 4 years on and off, in between all the covers and commissions and flying around attending comic cons. There are MANY times where I thought of giving up, cuz european comics arent kidding with quality...it's very detailed - think 8-9 panels per page. But I'm happy it's finally seeing the light of the day because SOLEIL just announced it on their website. Book is coming out in France, on January 29th, 2025. My only regret is I didnt work on the cover for both black and white as well as colour version...but hey, it's 80 pages of me so there's that. Haha. Fun fact, dont tell anyone - there MIGHT be a secret version with MY cover coming out, and in ENGLISH language....never know. Hehe. Anyway, here's some previews. I dont know how much I can show but here go you before they ask me to take it down.....
Writer : Jean-Luc Istin Storyboard : Benoit Dellac Art : Kael Ngu Colorist : Florent Daniel Cover artist : Bertrand Benoit Pages : 84
Megalith: Divine Intervention
In March, I created an 8-page short story for BAD IDEA’s Megalith: Divine Intervention, with legendary writer Matt Kindt. I have no idea when this will be released, so just a sneak preview for now.
Reverse Trike Time Timepiece
Then in June, I did a 3-page promotional comic for Kojima Productions x Anicorn Watches' REVERSE TRIKE TIME timepiece social media campaign. I'm a HUGE fan of Death Stranding so when Anicorn asked, it was a no brainer, haha! Disclaimer : This version is the fanart version and act as a tribute to Death Stranding. For official campaign post please refer to the instagram post from Anicorn Watches.
Creepshow #5 : Tent Revival
Next, in August, I worked on a 10-page horror story with one of my favourite editor Ben Abernathy, for Skybound's CREEPSHOW Vol 3 #5, titled Tent Revival with reowned writer Ed Brisson (lettered by Pat Brosseau)! This one is scheduled to arrive in stores soon in January 22nd, 2025. If you want to read a comic both drawn and colored by me, please pick this up! Ed’s storytelling is TOP NOTCH, and I’m very honored to collaborate with him. Camping and nature theme? Hell yes! Oh, and I also created a variant cover for it, so you’ll get both the cover AND interior by me...yay!
Killswitch : Ghost Colony
Also, 8-page short comic I created for KILLSWITCH. I titled it Ghost Colony to align with the exhibition’s theme and the art book. I actually finished this comic in 2023. We plan to tell more stories when we have the time, so expect more KS content in the future! For those asking, international shipping is a pain since this book is A3 in size. We’re still working on finding the best option for online orders—hopefully soon! For MALAYSIANS, feel free to place an order from our webstore : CLICK HERE
BACK TO INK WASH
Besides focusing mostly on comics in 2024, I also returned to traditional ink wash. I first tried the ink wash technique in 2021, but I felt I could do much, much better. Thanks to Black Myth: Wukong, a game I became addicted to, I decided to pick up ink wash again. I felt this technique works best for Chinese or Japanese-themed drawings, so it was the perfect opportunity to experiment with some bosses from the game. Needless to say, I had so much fun exploring the technique! Here’s a compilation of the ink wash drawings I’ve done so far. Each piece was created individually in my Moleskine sketchbook, and then comped together to form one big piece.
WHAT'S NEXT
I worked on a few short comics this year, and going forward, I’d really love to try a full 22-page issue...or what we call a ONE SHOT comic. I’m already in talks with some of the best editors, so hopefully, we’ll come up with something fun! Of course, more covers. Speaking of covers....please enjoy some of my favourite covers this year to end this post, because one shall never complain too many art in a post!
Till then, good health to all, happy holidays and see you all in 2025.
Thanks for reading as always!
Kael.
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